Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner sentenced to death

Two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death by a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine. Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Brahim Saaudun are accused of being mercenaries, Russian state media says.

The court, which is not internationally recognised, is in the pro-Russian so-called Donetsk People's Republic. The UK and Ukraine have condemned the sentences for violating international laws protecting prisoners of war.

The Britons' families have insisted they are long-serving members of the Ukrainian military and not mercenaries. The men's lawyer said they all wished to appeal against the sentence, Russia's Tass news agency reports.

All three men were charged with being mercenaries, the violent seizure of power and undergoing training to carry out terrorist activities, RIA Novosti said.

The UK government is "deeply concerned" over the death sentences given to Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner and was continuing to work with Ukraine to secure both men's release, Downing Street has said.

A spokesman added that prisoners of war "shouldn't be exploited for political purposes" and pointed to the laws of war laid out in the Geneva Conventions - which confers "combatant immunity" on prisoners of war.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the sentencing and described it as a "sham judgement with absolutely no legitimacy".

"My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them."

BBC Ukraine correspondent Joe Inwood, who is monitoring events from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, said the men, all dressed in black, had stood in a cage in the separatist courtroom listening intently as their sentences were read out.

Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner had stood motionless with their heads bowed. In between them, Mr Brahim rocked nervously from side to side.

Chair of the panel of judges Alexander Nikulin is quoted by the Russian-state Interfax agency as saying: "In passing the verdict the court was guided by not only the prescribed norms and rules, but the main, inviolable principle of justice."

Mr Aslin, 28, from Newark, in Nottinghamshire, and Mr Pinner, 48, from Bedfordshire, were captured by Russian forces in April. Their families say they were fighting in the Ukrainian military.

The younger man has a Ukrainian fiancee and both men are said to have lived in Ukraine since 2018.